CHAPTER 898: CHAPTER 896: NOTHING AT ALL

Wong Qiao didn’t look at Lady Zhao, and said blandly, "Someone like me is deeply entangled in this case, making it difficult to earn a living in the capital in the future. Uncle also can’t go against the entire city’s sentiment to recruit me back to Guangsha Construction. Uncle suggested I return to Clear Water Village, and I think I’ll agree."

Lady Zhao replied decisively, "Since it’s all about returning to the countryside, we might as well go back to Hezhou. We have several thousand taels of silver at hand; if we acquire some property in Hezhou, we could live as small landowners with servants at our beck and call. Why bother serving others here?"

Returning to Hezhou is also good; for their mother and son, it would mean returning home in glory. With a family fortune of several thousand taels of silver in Hezhou, they would live the life of a wealthy man.

Also, did Wong Qiao discuss with his mother? He was just thinking on his own about agreeing to return to some Clear Water Village.

"Alright, I’ll listen to Mother then." Wong Qiao lowered his eyes; Yuanfan was indeed correct, Mother truly harbored such thoughts. Living as a small landowner? Setting aside the things he loved, abandoning his lifetime pursuits to become a small landowner who just eats and waits to die?

"Mother, I haven’t told you yet. A few days ago, I met my father-in-law at the Ministry of Justice and talked about returning to Hezhou. My father-in-law said he was willing to let Biyao marry me because I was working with Uncle and Ye Zi, believing I would have a promising future afterward. If I return to Hezhou, he wouldn’t allow Biyao to come with me. He asked me to strive for a future in Hezhou and then to bring Biyao over."

For him and Biyao, this reason would let the father-in-law take the blame. Moreover, this wasn’t something he concocted to trap the father-in-law; it was at Yuanfan’s suggestion anyway, and Mother wouldn’t have the chance to confront the father-in-law.

Lady Zhao immediately perked up upon hearing this. Returning to Hezhou meant no need to worry about facing Ye Xinyan’s temper and not having to see her noble daughter-in-law daily. She could present herself graciously as the dignified lady of the family’s wealth, showcasing the grandeur of being the head of a rich household.

How delightful and pleasurable would that scenario be? Who could have imagined that even with a lawsuit, such benefits could be obtained?

"How can the father-in-law say something like this? He is still a court official, educated in the sages’ book, and yet doesn’t understand the old saying, ’Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog’? If the father-in-law is unwilling to have his daughter return to the hometown with us, then let’s dissolve the marriage, shall we? After all, women like Ye Xinyan and Zhou Biyao, who don’t follow traditions, won’t take marital dissolution seriously either."

"My father-in-law also mentioned, should I feel lonely after returning home and consider taking a concubine or dissolve the marriage and remarry, he agreed," Wong Qiao noticed a faint hint of joy on Lady Zhao’s face, which made him sigh inwardly, and continued, "However, Prince Yu’s Mansion stated that after marital dissolution, Biyao’s dowry and silver must be returned intact, according to the dowry list."

"What? Return? Intact..." Lady Zhao exclaimed in shock, her old arms and legs almost bouncing up.

Where was she supposed to return them to that old fellow?

After Zhou Biyao married into this family, she had the entire household rearranged, every nook and corner. From furniture and decorations to every needle and thread, all replaced with top-grade valuables. Even their family’s clothing, from inside out, was made from materials that came with Zhou Biyao’s dowry.

Wong Qiao did not respond to Lady Zhao’s words, "I roughly estimated it, and our silver at hand should cover our past six months of daily expenses and furnishings. The remainder will be enough for the journey back and short-term simple household expenses."

"Silver at hand?" Lady Zhao felt as if her heart and liver were being extracted with pain, "Those things were voluntarily taken out by her, I never demanded them, and even tried to stop her. Yet, she insisted on completely replacing them anew; even if this became a matter for the courtroom, I wouldn’t shoulder this debt, and I’m willing to confront her face-to-face publicly."

"Mother, don’t you understand? We have nothing to rely on right now, whereas the father-in-law is a Fourth-Rank Official of the court. No matter what, Biyao’s dowry and silver from the dowry were used in our family. The Yamen has conventions, a wife leaves with all dowry when divorcing."

As to whether it was demanded, those details are irrelevant, and no one would listen. If we certainly don’t return it, it can be treated as a debt, forcing the son into imprisonment or exile while our family’s assets are confiscated to compensate the Zhou family."

The result would be the same, with all our family properties needing to be returned to them, merely sacrificing our entire family in the process. In the past, Uncle and Father ended up with no remains and lost everything due to scheming from a commoner gentry."

And currently, the opponent is a Fourth-Rank Official in the capital, and they have valid reasons. Meanwhile, his mother already offended and scorned all the powers she could provoke...

Hehe, though Wong Qiao was reluctant to admit it, this indeed was a chance for his mother to curb her temper.

Lady Zhao remained extremely angry, "You wretched thing, all these troubles were caused by you, lusting after a court official’s daughter without considering your own status!"

She raised her hand intending to slap Wong Qiao again but didn’t execute it, instead weakly sweeping the two tea cups to the ground, producing the crisp sound of porcelain shattering, followed by Wong Qiao’s reminder, "Mother, this set of porcelain is very expensive. If even one piece breaks, the whole set is considered damaged and worthless."

Lady Zhao’s hands trembled uncontrollably. Although Ah Qiao had skills, she indeed came to the capital and lived a life envied by surrounding neighbors. Yet, ultimately, she was nothing and was merely an ant-like existence.

Wong Qiao mocked himself with a smile and continued speaking, "In fact, when Fourth Uncle Cheung took me out, I only thought I could earn more wages, allowing our household to have a better living. Mother thought the same back then, right? We common folks, even with a good skill, ultimately rely on hard work to make a living."

Had I not followed Ye Zi from Duke An’s Mansion, neither I nor my uncle, despite possessing great skills, would have been able to earn a living beyond the basic work-equivalent living. My uncle and Fourth Uncle Cheung’s family, even Biyao and the father-in-law, appreciated Ye Zi’s kindness and the opportunities Ye Zi brought.

Only me, only our family did not understand this blessing, and almost bit back at uncle. Uncle came to the capital leaving many craftsmen to Fourth Uncle Cheung; fortunately, Ye Zi was capable and had family status, otherwise, when I left Guangsha Construction last year, uncle would have had to close the business, returning his family back to the village.

Ye Zi’s status is not low enough to not discipline us, nor does she lack the means to make us lose our livelihood. She simply has a broad heart and chooses not to resort to those measures."

These words were what he had long wanted to say; Ye Zi and Biyao were right, he couldn’t continue letting his filial foolishness lead his mother astray.

"Mother, rest early; go back to Hezhou or to Clear Water Village, I’ll follow whatever Mother decides."

Wong Qiao called Xiuqin and Xiao Cui in to attend to Lady Zhao, while he returned to his room.

...

Qi Younian’s return immediately felt like a relief to Ye Xinyan; his staffing senses were exceptional. With Qi Younian present, Ye Xinyan had the chance to relax a bit and attend to other matters.

The project at Creekview Garden was nearing its end, with many miscellaneous tasks needing detailed attention, which was quite troublesome for Ye Xinyan.

With Qi Younian overseeing the situation, coupled with all the personnel he brought in being dispatched, it took less than half a month for the brand-new garden to be completed. Even the transplanted trees and potted flowers were properly placed, displaying vibrant vitality.